Wednesday, August 15, ’12H-87 Hurricane Mills L H 74 L 61 H H 72 L 59 M H 79 L 63L-64 C H 94 L 75Bear update: The Bear says We Had A Mud Wrestling Contest Party. TR says, “I defeated the Black Cur.” Moose say, “Sounds like you, Bear!” Lou says We Will Have A Look Into The Mirror Bear Party. We will serve Foods That You See In the Mirror. We woke up to sun. Will it last? A few clouds disappeared. The sun came out full, and the temperature in Hurricane Mills climbed to 87. Tucson 98/76 T-STORMS Brooklyn 83/70 We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and went to McDonalds for breakfast. We packed up the car as the clouds broke up (at least no more rain!) and checked out of room 123 at 10:33AM. Our first pit stop was right after exit 268. It was a rest area, the one we stopped at coming but on the other side. This time we didn’t have the steps. It had an Al Gore Sr marker about the interstates. It had a travel info bureau, too. The dog liked the grass. The 2nd pit stop was at an Exxon/Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken small travel stop at exit 256. We got gas, water, and $80.00 cash at the ATM. We have to remember to do that every day. The 3rd pit stop was at exit 238 for lunch. Kenny insisted that we go to Chick fil A instead of McDonalds. At least they had internet. I transferred my money and posted on Facebook. I downloaded more email. They kept on asking you if you wanted a refill, but their lemonade isn’t in the same class as McDonald’s. The landscape is flattening out as we go west. Gary says we’re past the Alleghenies, even the foothills. It seemed like we were coming downhill a lot to get to Cookeville and we came down even more to get to Nashville.69. We ran into four lanes on each side of the road as we approached Nashville. Our 4th pit stop was at exit 216 McDonalds right next to the La Quinta Nashville Airport where we once had reservations and canceled them on the way up in June. It was the last possible services before we got on the 440 Parkway. The 5th pit stop was at exit 188 McDonalds at Kingston Springs for lemonade and dipped cones. The 6th pit stop was at Loves/McDonalds at exit 163, Dickson. We finally arrived at the BW Hurricane Mills, a real interstate rest stop with a gas station, a restaurant, and a motel with a pool. We didn’t pull off the highway until 3:23PM. We checked into room 132 and soon went to dinner down the hill at the Log Cabin Restaurant. We called my parents for the first time in three days. My mother wanted to know why I was crazy enough to go back to Tucson when it was so hot. That’s a leading question. I told her I’d promised myself I wouldn’t be there in the summer for years now. And now I’d done it. She thought all Gary’s clients were there. We took out fried chicken for the dog and brought it back to the room. We took the dog and cat for a walk near the pool. It’s been a long ways down from the North Atlantic. But it’s getting dark out sooner at night. It’s dark by 8:00PM now instead of 10:00PM. It’s also the middle of August and not June. Guess what? Today’s two months exactly since we left the house in Tucson. I spent the evening looking back through all my travel blogs from this summer on Facebook. I was also looking back through my journal entries to determine when we discovered strawberry lemonade. We think it was the day we arrived in Midland. From now on I don’t think we need to worry about showers, cool weather, and low-lying fog on the mountains or roadways. We have to watch out for late afternoon thunderstorms and above all just plain old heat. We know all about that. We should get USA Today every day to look at the weather page. Travel Mystery: Why Are All TN Services And Rest Areas On The Right-Hand Side Of The Road On I-40 Going West? In June when we came east we noticed that all the stops, rest areas, fast food restaurants, etc in Tennessee were on the opposite side of the highway. Of course we resented the inconvenience, complained about it a lot, but philosophized that on the way back we’d like it. Well, we’re now taking advantage of the “right direction on I-40” as far as the Tennessee interstate system is concerned as we make our way back to Tucson. But to us it’s a big mystery. Why was it set up this way to begin with? Does anybody know? Postcard: Today we drove from Cookeville to Hurricane Mills, TN. We drove down out of the mountains. The land seems to be flattening out, but we still have a few hills left before we reach Memphis and the Mississippi River. Dog/Cat Report: Sabaka got fried chicken from the Log Cabin Restaurant for dinner. He gobbled it down then went for a walk around the pool at the BW Hurricane Mills. Putlitz insisted on sharing the dog’s dinner. I also gave him fried chicken for dinner. He also gobbled it up. Putlitz was sticking his head in the ice bin tonight. He knows it’s getting warmer. Still no contract . . . What next?